Refrigerator appliance with improved produce storage

ABSTRACT

A method of operating a refrigerator appliance includes monitoring humidity within a food storage compartment of the refrigerator appliance and comparing the monitored humidity level with a predetermined humidity threshold. In response to the monitored humidity level dropping below the predetermined humidity threshold, a mist of water is sprayed into the food storage compartment for a predetermined spraying time. The method also includes activating an ultraviolet light source to direct ultraviolet light into the food storage compartment for a predetermined lighting time. At least a portion of the predetermined lighting time is concurrent with the predetermined spraying time. The method also includes waiting a predetermined rest time before repeating the step of spraying the mist of water into the food storage compartment in response to the monitored humidity level below the predetermined humidity threshold.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates generally to refrigerator appliances,and more particularly to systems and methods for providing improvedshelf life for produce items stored in such refrigerator appliances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Refrigerator appliances generally include a cabinet that defines achilled chamber. A wide variety of food items may be stored within thechilled chamber. The low temperature of the chilled chamber relative toambient atmosphere assists with increasing a shelf life of the fooditems stored within the chilled chamber.

Vegetables stored in a refrigerator appliance lose weight over time, inparticular due to loss of water. However, storing the vegetables in anenvironment, e.g., inside a vegetable drawer, with higher humidityrelative to the remainder of the chilled chamber may also entail reducedair circulation within the compartment in which the vegetables arestored. Such reduced air circulation may lead to foul smells developingwithin the compartment.

Accordingly, a refrigerator with features for extending the shelf lifeof produce, in particular, vegetables, would be useful.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in thefollowing description, or may be apparent from the description, or maybe learned through practice of the invention.

In an exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator appliance is provided. Therefrigerator appliance defines a vertical direction, a lateraldirection, and a transverse direction. The vertical, lateral, andtransverse directions are mutually perpendicular. The refrigeratorappliance includes a cabinet defining a food storage chamber. The foodstorage chamber extends between a top portion and a bottom portion alongthe vertical direction, between a first side portion and a second sideportion along the lateral direction, and between a front portion and aback portion along the transverse direction. The refrigerator appliancealso includes a drawer slidably mounted within the food storage chamber.The drawer includes a plurality of walls defining a food storagecompartment. The refrigerator appliance also includes a spray nozzle influid communication with the food storage compartment. The spray nozzleis configured to direct a mist of water into the food storagecompartment. The refrigerator appliance further includes a humiditysensor positioned and configured to monitor a humidity level within thefood storage compartment. The refrigerator appliance also includes anultraviolet light source in optical communication with the food storagecompartment. The ultraviolet light source is configured to directultraviolet light into the food storage compartment. The refrigeratorappliance further includes a controller. The controller is in operativecommunication with the spray nozzle, the humidity sensor, and theultraviolet light source. The controller is configured for continuallymonitoring, with the humidity sensor, the humidity level in the foodstorage compartment and comparing the monitored humidity level with apredetermined humidity threshold. The controller is also configured forspraying a mist of water into the food storage compartment from thespray nozzle for a predetermined spraying time when the monitoredhumidity level is less than the predetermined humidity threshold. Thecontroller is further configured for activating the ultraviolet lightsource for a predetermined lighting time. At least a portion of thepredetermined lighting time is concurrent with the predeterminedspraying time. The controller is also configured for waiting for apredetermined rest time after the end of the predetermined spraying timeand repeating the step of spraying the mist of water into the foodstorage compartment from the spray nozzle for the predetermined sprayingtime when the monitored humidity level is less than the predeterminedhumidity threshold after the predetermined rest time.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method of operating a refrigeratorappliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance includes a cabinetdefining a food storage chamber and a drawer slidably mounted within thefood storage chamber. The drawer includes a plurality of walls defininga food storage compartment. The refrigerator appliance also includes ahumidity sensor positioned and configured to monitor a humidity levelwithin the food storage compartment, and the method includes continuallymonitoring, with the humidity sensor, the humidity level in the foodstorage compartment and comparing the monitored humidity level to apredetermined humidity threshold. The method also includes spraying amist of water into the food storage compartment from a spray nozzle influid communication with the food storage compartment. The spray nozzleis configured to direct a mist of water into the food storagecompartment. The mist of water is sprayed into the food storagecompartment for a predetermined spraying time when the monitoredhumidity level is less than the predetermined humidity threshold. Themethod also includes activating an ultraviolet light source in opticalcommunication with the food storage compartment. The ultraviolet lightsource is configured to direct ultraviolet light into the food storagecompartment. The ultraviolet light source is activated for apredetermined lighting time, and at least a portion of the predeterminedlighting time is concurrent with the predetermined spraying time. Themethod further includes waiting for a predetermined rest time after theend of the predetermined spraying time, and repeating the step ofspraying the mist of water into the food storage compartment from thespray nozzle for the predetermined spraying time when the monitoredhumidity level is less than the predetermined humidity threshold afterthe predetermined rest time.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures.

FIG. 1 provides a front view of a refrigerator appliance according to anexemplary embodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 2 provides a perspective view of the refrigerator appliance of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 provides a front view of the refrigerator appliance of FIG. 1with doors thereof in an open position.

FIG. 4 provides a front view of a portion of a refrigerator applianceaccording to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present subjectmatter.

FIG. 5 provides a section view of the portion of the refrigeratorappliance of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 provides a front view of a portion of a refrigerator applianceaccording to one or more additional embodiments of the present subjectmatter.

FIG. 7 provides a section view of the portion of the refrigeratorappliance of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 provides a perspective view of a drawer which may be incorporatedinto a refrigerator appliance in one or more exemplary embodiments ofthe present subject matter.

FIG. 9 provides a flow diagram of an exemplary method for operating arefrigerator appliance according to one or more exemplary embodiments ofthe present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, notlimitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncovers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary embodiment of a refrigeratorappliance 100. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the refrigeratorappliance 100. FIG. 3 is a front view of the refrigerator appliance 100with fresh food doors 128 thereof in an open position. Refrigeratorappliance 100 extends between a top 101 and a bottom 102 along avertical direction V. Refrigerator appliance 100 also extends between afirst side 105 and a second side 106 along a lateral direction L. Asshown in FIG. 2, a transverse direction T may additionally be definedperpendicular to the vertical and lateral directions V and L.Refrigerator appliance 100 extends along the transverse direction Tbetween a front portion 108 and a back portion 110.

Refrigerator appliance 100 includes a cabinet or housing 120 defining anupper fresh food chamber 122 (FIG. 3) and a lower freezer chamber orfrozen food storage chamber 124 arranged below the fresh food chamber122 along the vertical direction V. In some embodiments, an auxiliaryfood storage chamber (not shown) may be positioned between the freshfood storage chamber 122 and the frozen food storage chamber 124, e.g.,along the vertical direction V. Because the frozen food storage chamber124 is positioned below the fresh food storage chamber 122, refrigeratorappliance 100 is generally referred to as a bottom mount refrigerator.In the exemplary embodiment, housing 120 also defines a mechanicalcompartment (not shown) for receipt of a sealed cooling system (notshown). Using the teachings disclosed herein, one of skill in the artwill understand that the present invention can be used with other typesof refrigerators (e.g., side-by-sides) or a freezer appliance as well.Consequently, the description set forth herein is for illustrativepurposes only and is not intended to limit the invention in any aspect.

Refrigerator doors 128 are each rotatably hinged to an edge of housing120 for accessing fresh food chamber 122. It should be noted that whiletwo doors 128 in a “French door” configuration are illustrated, anysuitable arrangement of doors utilizing one, two or more doors is withinthe scope and spirit of the present disclosure. A freezer door 130 isarranged below refrigerator doors 128 for accessing freezer chamber 124.In the exemplary embodiment, freezer door 130 is coupled to a freezerdrawer (not shown) slidably mounted within freezer chamber 124. Anauxiliary door 127 may be coupled to an auxiliary drawer (not shown)which is slidably mounted within the auxiliary chamber (not shown).

Operation of the refrigerator appliance 100 can be regulated by acontroller 134 that is operatively coupled to a user interface panel136. User interface panel 136 provides selections for user manipulationof the operation of refrigerator appliance 100 to modify environmentalconditions therein, such as temperature selections, etc. In someembodiments, user interface panel 136 may be proximate a dispenserassembly 132. Panel 136 provides selections for user manipulation of theoperation of refrigerator appliance 100 such as, e.g., temperatureselections, selection of automatic or manual override humidity control(as described in more detail below), etc. In response to usermanipulation of the user interface panel 136, the controller 134operates various components of the refrigerator appliance 100. Operationof the refrigerator appliance 100 can be regulated by the controller134, e.g., controller 134 may regulate operation of various componentsof the refrigerator appliance 100 in response to programming and/or usermanipulation of the user interface panel 136.

The controller 134 may include a memory and one or more microprocessors,CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessorsoperable to execute programming instructions or micro-control codeassociated with operation of refrigerator appliance 100. The memory mayrepresent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such asROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programminginstructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate componentfrom the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. Itshould be noted that controllers 134 as disclosed herein are capable ofand may be operable to perform any methods and associated method stepsas disclosed herein.

The controller 134 may be positioned in a variety of locationsthroughout refrigerator appliance 100. In the illustrated embodiment,the controller 134 may be located within the door 128. In such anembodiment, input/output (“I/O”) signals may be routed between thecontroller and various operational components of refrigerator appliance100. In one embodiment, the user interface panel 136 may represent ageneral purpose I/O (“GPIO”) device or functional block. In oneembodiment, the user interface 136 may include input components, such asone or more of a variety of electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanicalinput devices including rotary dials, push buttons, and touch pads. Theuser interface 136 may include a display component, such as a digital oranalog display device designed to provide operational feedback to auser. For example, the user interface 136 may include a touchscreenproviding both input and display functionality. The user interface 136may be in communication with the controller via one or more signal linesor shared communication busses.

As may be seen in FIG. 3, a plurality of food storage elements, such asbins 138, shelves 142, and drawers 140 are disposed within the freshfood storage chamber 122. As will be described in more detail below, thedrawers 140 may be configured for storing produce, such as fruits andvegetables, and, in particular, may be configured for providing improvedshelf life of the produce. For example, in some embodiments, therefrigerator appliance may include two drawers 140, e.g., as illustratedin FIG. 3, one of which is a vegetable drawer and the other is a fruitdrawer, also as will be described in more detail below.

Using the teachings disclosed herein, one of skill in the art willunderstand that the present subject matter can be used with other typesof refrigerators such as a refrigerator/freezer combination,side-by-side, bottom mount, compact, and any other style or model ofrefrigerator appliance. Accordingly, other configurations ofrefrigerator appliance 100 could be provided, it being understood thatthe configurations shown in the accompanying FIGS. and the descriptionset forth herein are by way of example for illustrative purposes only.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an exemplary drawer 140 may include a foodstorage compartment 144. The food storage compartment 144 may be definedby a plurality of walls of the drawer 140. For example, the plurality ofwalls may include a front wall 146, a back wall 148, a left wall 150,and a right wall 152. Directional terms such as “left” and “right” areused herein with reference to the perspective of a user standing infront of the refrigerator appliance 100 to access items stored therein.One of the walls, e.g., the front wall 146 as in the illustrated exampleembodiment of FIG. 8, may include a vent aperture 154 defined in andthrough the wall, e.g., the front wall 146. In such embodiments, thevent aperture 154 may be unobstructed, for example, no shutter or slideror other mechanism for fully or partially shutting the vent aperture 154may be provided. In particular, the drawer 140 may not include ahumidity control knob, slider, or lever which adjusts the degree ofopenness of the vent aperture 154. The unobstructed vent aperture 154may advantageously provide increased air circulation into and throughthe food storage compartment 144, thereby preventing or reducing theformation and/or accumulation of foul odors within the drawer 140.Moreover, as described in further detail below, the humidity within thefood storage compartment 144 may be controlled by a spraying systemwithout the need to open or close the vent aperture 154, e.g., while thevent aperture 154 remains fully open and unobstructed throughout therange of humidity levels provided within the food storage compartment144.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 7, in various embodiments, therefrigerator appliance 100 may include a spray nozzle 200 in fluidcommunication with the food storage compartment 144. For example, thespray nozzle 200 may be positioned and configured to direct a mist ofwater 1000 (FIGS. 5 and 6) into the food storage compartment 144. Insuch embodiments, the refrigerator appliance 100 may also include anultraviolet (UV) light source 202 in optical communication with the foodstorage compartment 144. For example, the ultraviolet light source 202may be positioned and configured to direct ultraviolet (UV) light 1002(FIGS. 5 and 6) into the food storage compartment 144. In someembodiments, the refrigerator appliance 100 may further include ahumidity sensor 160 (FIGS. 5 and 7) positioned and configured to monitora humidity level within the food storage compartment 144.

Further, in at least some embodiments, the refrigerator appliance 100may include two drawers 140, e.g., a fruit drawer 140 and a vegetabledrawer 140. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 7, the spray nozzle 200may be in fluid communication with the vegetable drawer 140 in order tospray the mist of water 1000 into the food storage compartment 144thereof. In such embodiments, a second UV light source 202 may beprovided in optical communication with the fruit drawer 140 to direct UVlight 1002 into the food storage compartment 144 of the fruit drawer140, while the refrigerator appliance 100 does not include a spraynozzle 200 in direct fluid communication with the fruit drawer 140.

In particular embodiments, e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, thespray nozzle 200 and the UV light source 202 may be mounted on thecabinet 120. For example, the spray nozzle 200 and the UV light source202 may be mounted on an interior surface of a back wall of the cabinet120 facing forwards, e.g., towards the front portion 108 of therefrigerator appliance 100 and, more immediately, towards the back wall148 (FIG. 8) of the drawer 140. In such embodiments, the drawer 140 mayinclude an aperture 156 which is aligned with the spray nozzle 200 inorder to permit the mist of water 1000 to enter the food storagecompartment 144 through the aperture 156, e.g., as illustrated in FIG.5. Additionally, in such embodiments, the drawer 140, and in particularthe walls 146, 148, 150, and 152 thereof, may comprise or consist of asuitable translucent material to permit the UV light 1002 from the UVlight source 202 to travel through, e.g., the back wall 148, into thefood storage compartment 144 of each drawer 140.

In additional exemplary embodiments, e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and7, the spray nozzle 200 and the UV light source 202 may be mounted,e.g., clipped, to one or more of the shelves 142, such as to anunderside of a shelf 142 that is directly above the drawer(s) 140. Insuch embodiments, the mist of water 1000 from the spray nozzle 200 andthe UV light 1002 from the one or more UV light sources 202 may enterdirectly into the or each drawer 140. For example, in such embodiments,the mist of water 1000 from the spray nozzle 200 may travel directly andimmediately from the spray nozzle 200 into the vegetable drawer 140,e.g., without having to pass through a wall of the drawer 140 or anaperture extending through such wall. Also by way of example, in suchembodiments, the UV light 1002 from each UV light source 202 may traveldirectly and immediately from each UV light source 202 into therespective fruit drawer 140 or vegetable drawer 140.

In various embodiments, the UV light source 202 may be deactivated whenone or both of the doors 128 is or are opened. The UV light source 202may then be reactivated when both doors 128 are closed. For example, thecontroller 134 may be operable to detect the door(s) 128 opening and todeactivate the UV light source 202 in response to detecting that one orboth doors 128 are open, and to reactivate the UV light source 202 afterdetecting that both doors 128 are closed.

Turning now to FIG. 9, embodiments of the present disclosure may includea method 300 of operating a refrigerator appliance, such as theexemplary refrigerator appliance 100 described above. For example, therefrigerator appliance may include a controller and a plurality of foodstorage drawers, as described above.

In some embodiments, the method 300 may include a step 310 of monitoringa humidity level within a food storage compartment, such as theexemplary food storage compartment 144 defined within drawer 140 asillustrated and as described above. Monitoring the humidity level may becontinuously performed in some embodiments. The method 300 may theninclude a step 320 of determining whether the monitored humidity levelis less than a predetermined humidity threshold. When the monitoredhumidity level is less than the predetermined humidity threshold, themethod 300 may, in some embodiments, proceed from step 320 to a step 330of spraying a mist of water into the food storage compartment from aspray nozzle in fluid communication with the food storage compartmentfor a predetermined spraying time. For example, the step 320 may includecomparing the monitored humidity level to the predetermined humiditythreshold and the step 330 may be performed in response to the monitoredhumidity level being less than the predetermined humidity threshold.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, in some embodiments, the method 300 may alsoinclude a step 332 of activating an ultraviolet light source in opticalcommunication with the food storage compartment, whereby ultravioletlight source directs ultraviolet light into the food storagecompartment, for a predetermined lighting time. Also as illustrated inFIG. 9, the steps 330 and 332 may be performed concurrently, such as atleast a portion of the predetermined lighting time may be concurrentwith the predetermined spraying time.

After the predetermined spraying time has ended, the method 300 may thenproceed to a step 340 of waiting for a predetermined rest time after theend of the predetermined spraying time before returning to the step 320of determining whether the monitored humidity level is less than thepredetermined humidity threshold. Thus, the method 300 may, in someembodiments, repeat the step 330, et seq., when and because themonitored humidity level is less than the predetermined humiditythreshold after the predetermined rest time.

The predetermined rest time may be sufficient for the sprayed water toevaporate from the food storage compartment, e.g., compartment 144described above. Thus, the predetermined rest time may be a function of,e.g., based at least in part on, the volume of the food storagecompartment. Additionally, the predetermined rest time may also orinstead be based at least in part on the average droplet size, e.g., theaverage volume of water droplets, produced by the spray nozzle. Forexample, the predetermined rest time may be based on an evaporation rateof the sprayed or misted water, and the predetermined rest time may beat least a minimum time taken for the water droplets to evaporate, suchas based on the volume or mass (or both) of water that is sprayed intothe food storage compartment during the predetermined spraying time.Further, the predetermined rest time, in combination with thedehumidification cycle of the refrigerator appliance in at least someembodiments, may be sufficient for the sprayed water to completelyevaporate from the food storage compartment.

In embodiments where at least a portion of the predetermined lightingtime is concurrent with the predetermined spraying time, the combinedeffects of the water and the UV light may be advantageous. For example,in such embodiments, the antimicrobial and disinfecting efficacy of theUV light may be improved by the presence of the water mist as comparedto UV light alone.

In some embodiments, the predetermined spraying time may be a constantvalue which does not change from one operation or iteration to the next.In other embodiments, the predetermined spraying time may be variable.For example, the predetermined spraying time may vary based on anidentity of the food item(s), e.g., vegetable(s), placed within the foodstorage compartment. In such embodiments, the method may also includeand/or the refrigerator appliance may further be configured foridentifying a food item and implementing or applying a value of thepredetermined spraying time that is based on the identified food item.

In some embodiments, identification of the food item may be accomplishedwith a camera (not shown). For example, the refrigerator appliance mayinclude a camera, and the step of identifying the food item may includeidentifying the food item based on an image captured by the camera. Insome embodiments, the operation of the camera may be tied to the dooropening, e.g., the camera may be operable and configured to capture animage each time the door is closed after detecting a door opening. Thestructure and operation of cameras are understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art and, as such, the camera is not specificallyillustrated or described in further detail herein for the sake ofbrevity and clarity. In such embodiments, the controller 134 of therefrigerator appliance 100 may be configured for image-based processing,e.g., to identify a food item based on an image of the food item, e.g.,a photograph of the food item taken with the camera. For example, thecontroller 134 may be configured to identify the food item by comparisonof the image to a stored image of a known or previously-identified fooditem.

In some embodiments, the method may also include detecting an opening ofa door and pausing spraying the mist of water into the food storagecompartment in response to detecting the opening of the door during thepredetermined spraying time. For example, the ambient environmentoutside of and immediately around the refrigerator appliance willgenerally be more humid than the interior of the refrigerator appliance.As such, when the door is opened, the humidity in the food storagecompartment may increase as a result of more humid air from outside therefrigerator appliance coming in, e.g., the air from the ambientenvironment is typically warmer than air within the refrigeratorappliance and when such air enters the food storage chamber, e.g., 122,the air cools and condensation forms on surfaces within the food storagechamber, such as on the cabinet walls, shelves, and/or the walls of thedrawer, including within the food storage compartment. Accordingly,continued spraying of the mist of water may not be needed during thetime that the door of the refrigerator is open and for at least sometime period thereafter. As such, the method may include waiting untilafter detecting a closing of the door before resuming the humiditycontrol operations. For example, the method may include returning to thestep of comparing the monitored humidity level with the predeterminedhumidity threshold after detecting the closing of the door after pausingthe spraying of the mist of water in response to detecting the openingof the door during the predetermined spraying time. Moreover, when themethod resumes spraying after the door is closed (and after the humiditylevel is again less than the predetermined humidity threshold), thespraying may, in some embodiments, be performed for less than the fullamount of the predetermined spraying time. For example, rather thancompletely restarting the spraying step, the mist of water may besprayed into the food storage compartment from the spray nozzle for aremainder of the predetermined spraying time based on how much of thepredetermined spraying time had elapsed before the door was opened. Asan example, if the predetermined spraying time is X seconds and the dooris opened after Y seconds (Y is less than X), then, after the door isclosed and after the monitored humidity level once again drops below thepredetermined humidity threshold, the mist of water will be sprayed intothe food storage compartment for X minus Y seconds, e.g., the remainingamount or portion of the predetermined spraying time when the door wasopened.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the method may also include and/orthe controller may also be configured for waiting for a predeterminedperiod of time to elapse after detecting the closing of the door andbefore returning to the step of comparing the monitored humidity levelwith the predetermined humidity threshold. Waiting for the predeterminedperiod of time to elapse after detecting the closing of the door andbefore returning to the step of comparing the monitored humidity levelwith the predetermined humidity threshold may advantageously allow thecondensation process described above to complete, such that the humidityreading used in the comparing step may thereby more accurately reflectthe influence of the outside air on the humidity within the food storagecompartment as compared to immediately resuming the comparing step afterthe door closing is detected.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the presentdisclosure provides numerous advantages. For example, providing the mistof water into the food storage compartment may advantageously reduce oravoid wilting of vegetables therein, thereby providing extended shelflife for the vegetables. Additionally, the predetermined rest time maymaintain the humidity level within the vegetable drawer at or below alevel which can readily evaporate from the food storage compartment andallow time for such evaporation to occur. The benefits resulting fromsuch rest time include eliminating the need to drain liquid water fromthe food storage compartment and reducing or eliminating the potentialfor bacteria growth in the food storage compartment. Moreover, thecombination of UV light with the mist spray in particular mayadvantageously provide disinfection to the food storage compartmentwithin each produce drawer to ensure that the fruits and vegetablestherein are free from potentially harmful microbes that might otherwiseflourish on the surfaces of the produce. It is to be understood that theUV light provides such advantages in both the fruit drawer and thevegetable drawer, but also that the combination of UV light and the mistof water in the vegetable drawer provides enhances disinfectioncapability of the UV light. The foregoing advantages are provided by wayof example only, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious embodiments of the present disclosure may also provideadditional advantages and/or that some embodiments of the presentdisclosure may not necessarily provide each of the foregoing exemplaryadvantages. As such, none of the example advantages discussed in thisparagraph are to be considered required or mandatory features of thepresent disclosure.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator appliance defining a verticaldirection, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, thevertical, lateral, and transverse directions being mutuallyperpendicular, the refrigerator appliance comprising: a cabinet defininga food storage chamber, the food storage chamber extending between a topportion and a bottom portion along the vertical direction, a first sideportion and a second side portion along the lateral direction, and afront portion and a back portion along the transverse direction; adrawer slidably mounted within the food storage chamber, the drawercomprising a plurality of walls defining a food storage compartment; aspray nozzle in fluid communication with the food storage compartment,the spray nozzle configured to direct a mist of water into the foodstorage compartment; a humidity sensor positioned and configured tomonitor a humidity level within the food storage compartment; anultraviolet light source in optical communication with the food storagecompartment, the ultraviolet light source configured to directultraviolet light into the food storage compartment; and a controller,the controller in operative communication with the spray nozzle, thehumidity sensor, and the ultraviolet light source, the controllerconfigured for: continually monitoring, with the humidity sensor, thehumidity level in the food storage compartment; comparing the monitoredhumidity level with a predetermined humidity threshold; spraying a mistof water into the food storage compartment from the spray nozzle for apredetermined spraying time when the monitored humidity level is lessthan the predetermined humidity threshold; activating the ultravioletlight source for a predetermined lighting time, wherein at least aportion of the predetermined lighting time is concurrent with thepredetermined spraying time; waiting for a predetermined rest time afterthe end of the predetermined spraying time; and repeating the step ofspraying the mist of water into the food storage compartment from thespray nozzle for the predetermined spraying time when the monitoredhumidity level is less than the predetermined humidity threshold afterthe predetermined rest time.
 2. The refrigerator appliance of claim 1,wherein the drawer comprises a vent aperture in one wall of theplurality of walls and wherein the vent aperture is unobstructed.
 3. Therefrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the predetermined rest timeis proportional to the average volume of water droplets produced by thespray nozzle during the predetermined spraying time, whereby the waterfrom the step of spraying the mist of water evaporates completely duringthe predetermined rest time.
 4. The refrigerator appliance of claim 1,wherein the predetermined spraying time is a constant value.
 5. Therefrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured for identifying a food item and wherein the predeterminedspraying time is variable based on the identified food item.
 6. Therefrigerator appliance of claim 5, further comprising a camera, whereinthe controller is configured for identifying the food item based on animage captured by the camera.
 7. The refrigerator appliance of claim 1,wherein the controller is further configured for detecting an opening ofa door and pausing the spraying of the mist of water into the foodstorage compartment in response to detecting the opening of the doorduring the predetermined spraying time.
 8. The refrigerator appliance ofclaim 7, wherein the controller is further configured for returning tothe step of comparing the monitored humidity level with thepredetermined humidity threshold after detecting a closing of the doorafter pausing the spraying of the mist of water into the food storagecompartment in response to detecting the opening of the door during thepredetermined spraying time, and wherein the controller is furtherconfigured for spraying the mist of water into the food storagecompartment from the spray nozzle for a remainder of the predeterminedspraying time when the monitored humidity level is less than thepredetermined humidity threshold after detecting the closing of thedoor.
 9. The refrigerator appliance of claim 8, wherein the controlleris further configured for waiting for a predetermined period of time toelapse after detecting the closing of the door and before returning tothe step of comparing the monitored humidity level with thepredetermined humidity threshold.
 10. A method of operating arefrigerator appliance, the refrigerator appliance comprising a cabinetdefining a food storage chamber and a drawer slidably mounted within thefood storage chamber, the drawer comprising a plurality of wallsdefining a food storage compartment, the method comprising: continuallymonitoring, with a humidity sensor positioned and configured to monitora humidity level within the food storage compartment, the humidity levelin the food storage compartment; comparing the monitored humidity levelto a predetermined humidity threshold; spraying a mist of water into thefood storage compartment from a spray nozzle in fluid communication withthe food storage compartment, the spray nozzle configured to direct amist of water into the food storage compartment, for a predeterminedspraying time when the monitored humidity level is less than thepredetermined humidity threshold; activating an ultraviolet light sourcein optical communication with the food storage compartment, theultraviolet light source configured to direct ultraviolet light into thefood storage compartment, for a predetermined lighting time, wherein atleast a portion of the predetermined lighting time is concurrent withthe predetermined spraying time; waiting for a predetermined rest timeafter the end of the predetermined spraying time; and repeating the stepof spraying the mist of water into the food storage compartment from thespray nozzle for the predetermined spraying time when the monitoredhumidity level is less than the predetermined humidity threshold afterthe predetermined rest time.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thedrawer comprises a vent aperture in one wall of the plurality of wallsand wherein the vent aperture is unobstructed.
 12. The method of claim10, wherein the predetermined rest time is proportional to the averagevolume of water droplets produced by the spray nozzle during thepredetermined spraying time, whereby the water from the step of sprayingthe mist of water evaporates completely during the predetermined resttime.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined sprayingtime is a constant value.
 14. The method of claim 10, further comprisingidentifying a food item and wherein the predetermined spraying time isvariable based on the identified food item.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the refrigerator appliance further comprises a camera, whereinthe step of identifying the food item comprises identifying the fooditem based on an image captured by the camera.
 16. The method of claim10, further comprising detecting an opening of a door and pausingspraying the mist of water into the food storage compartment in responseto detecting the opening of the door during the predetermined sprayingtime.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising returning to thestep of comparing the monitored humidity level with the predeterminedhumidity threshold after detecting a closing of the door after pausingthe spraying of the mist of water in response to detecting the openingof the door during the predetermined spraying time, and furthercomprising spraying the mist of water into the food storage compartmentfrom the spray nozzle for a remainder of the predetermined spraying timewhen the monitored humidity level is less than the predeterminedhumidity threshold after detecting the closing of the door.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising waiting for a predeterminedperiod of time to elapse after detecting the closing of the door andbefore returning to the step of comparing the monitored humidity levelwith the predetermined humidity threshold.